


Heith Week 2k17

by kotoriqueen



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: As well as Lance/Pidge is a thing in here, Everything is pretty much canon, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, M/M, Shiro/Allura is mentioned, and day 7 may come later because im still thinking for it, heithweek2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-15
Updated: 2017-07-21
Packaged: 2018-12-02 09:13:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11506275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kotoriqueen/pseuds/kotoriqueen
Summary: Day 1 (7/15): laughing/cryingDay 2 (7/16): gain/lossDay 3 (7/17): fighting/touchDay 4 (7/18):dreams/realityDay 5 (7/19):family/friendsDay 6 (7/20):coloursDay 7 (7/21):free day (College AU)--You can also find all the heithweek stories on mytumblr!!





	1. Day 1; July 15th - crying

**Author's Note:**

> I'm going to be posting all the days at once, seeing as how I'll be working too hard to post them all day by day. I'll be queuing them on my
> 
>  
> 
> [tumblr](http://kotoriqueen.tumblr.com/)
> 
>  
> 
> , so you can find them there, as well!
> 
> Happy Heith Week!

“ _Allura doesn’t hate you_ ,” Hunk had said. “ _She just needs to time to take in the fact you’re Galra; the race that has destroyed_ _her planet and_ _all of her people – Okay, she_ might  _hate you a little bit._ ”

When he and Shiro entered the Blades of Marmora’s base, and he took the trials to find about the blade he had, Keith didn’t know what he would expect. There were signs since he came to space that he  _could be_  Galra, but those hints he had kept to himself. After awakening the blade, he’s more shocked that Shiro didn’t hate him because of the fact - “We’re both part Galra, Keith. Why should I hate you for something you can’t help – or new information you were just given?” Shiro had told him. But yet, Keith still thinks Shiro hated him, just chose not to show it because of his responsibilities as a  _leader_.

After the trials, and with two Marmora members getting ready to board Red, Shiro had approached him in the middle of changing into his paladin armor, telling him he didn’t  _have_  to tell the others until he’s ready. Keith thought about it, but he just sighed and told Shiro “I need to get it over with.”

He expected the reaction from Allura honestly, but her hate  _still_  hurt him – hurt him  _deep_. He went completely quiet, and refused healing from a pod, against Shiro’s word.

“I’m just going to rest,” Keith muttered. “unless I’m not allowed the room anymore because of the heritage I  _just_ found out about.”

It’s even worse when they were given tasks to make a teludav, to finally take down Zarkon. Hunk, the most sensitive and caring member in the group, had complained a little about him being  _Galra_. (“Go to a Galra-occupied planet to get my lion. Go to a Galra-occupied Balmera to get a crystal. Go into a bell of a beat with the only Galra alien team member.” Yeah, like  _that_  made him feel any better. He didn’t need this to be rubbed in.)

And when they got back, it’s even  _worse_. If Keith asked something, Allura gave one-worded answers or no answers at all. And Allura only thanked  _Hunk_ for bringing them the scaultrite. (“Keith was there, too.” And yet Allura ignores that fact, which only made Keith’s heart ache more.) Though Keith supposes he can’t really  _blame_ Allura for it, but that still didn’t mean he wasn’t still hurting from how she was treating him.

It’s after they had spoken about taken down Zarkon they had retreated to the ship, and Keith said he’d be going back to his room until dinner was ready. Hunk’s the one to go get him once everyone had eaten dinner. Shiro had mentioned that he had told Keith and got the response he’d be down there in a minute, but seeing as how he knew Keith the longest, he figured it was best not to press on and let him be alone. (“He’s always alone though! How much alone time does he  _need_!” Lance had complained, earning a glare from Shiro, so he shut his mouth pretty quick and continued to eat in complete silence.)

“Yeah, but he shouldn’t miss  _dinner_ ,” Hunk told him, getting up from his seat at the table and prepares a small plate for the red paladin. “It’s not healthy. Usually I listen to you, Shiro, but I’m going to bring him a plate of food.”

Shiro doesn’t stop him. The walk to Keith’s room is deathly quiet, and Hunk knocks on the door, telling Keith he brought him food. At first he was just going to leave it by the door, since he got no response from the other boy, but the he hears a choked sob on the other side of the door. Both Pidge and himself had learned how to hack the doors, in case a paladin had been in trouble in their room and they couldn’t get to them without busting the door down. (And because Allura and Coran would be pissed if they did, they came up with a way that  _any_ hand print would work on the doors. Though it could be customized to the paladins choice of who they trusted.) Hunk’s pleased to find out Keith never changed it, and he still has access to enter his room.)

Although the sight he sees, and the sounds he hear is not what he expected, and it makes his heart  _drop_  right into his stomach. Keith’s  _crying_ ; the sounds are easy enough to figure out what they were, and Hunk had seen Keith curled up in his bed, blanket draped over him and body shaking. Hunk sets the food to the side, and carefully approaches the bed, only a good foot away before he speaks up.

“Keith?” Hunk calls out. Keith’s breath hitches and Hunk could see the boy freeze under the blanket. “..Did you not hear me come in..?”

“No..” A one worded response, followed by a sniffle. But that doesn’t mean he stops talking from there. “What.. what are you doing here?”

“I brought you dinner. It’s not healthy for you to miss a meal,” Hunk mentions, and takes a step closer. “..Can I sit on the bed?”

“Do whatever you want.”

Hunk gulps and hesitantly steps closer, and feels around the bed so he doesn’t  _sit_  on the poor paladin. When he sits on the mattress, he looks at the lump under the covers, seeing that Keith hasn’t budged since he called out to him. The rooms quiet for a long time before Hunk goes to say something, but Keith’s the one to speak up first.

“Why are you staying anyway?”

“Because you were just  _crying_  and I can’t leave you alone?” Hunk responds. “Look, I know I’m not Shiro, and I know you trust him more than me with your problems, but I  _do_  care about you, Keith.” No response comes from the other so Hunk continues. “I know I said some things on our past mission that may have you think otherwise but.. honestly? I don’t hate you. Not one bit. It took me a moment to take everything in, and the Galra  _may have_ destroyed planets--”

“Not  _may_ ; they  _did_.” Keith corrects. Hunk nods, even though Keith can’t see it.

“Right. They did. But you’re not  _them_. I mean you are, but you’re not? It’s-- it’s confusing. I mean, this is  _new information_ to you. This is the first time you learned about where you came from. I don’t know the whole story with you, but there’s _no way_ you could have known this at like, three years old,” Hunk continues with a shrug. “Besides, even if you have known, and Zarkon wrecked havoc, I bet you would have been part of the rebel group long before we became paladins. But, then again, would you have became the red paladin if that had happened? Would we have gotten stuck with someone else? Would we have never met you? Because, personally, I’m-”

It all happens so fast, and Hunk hadn’t been paying attention to when Keith had came out of his little blanket cocoon. Now the red paladin had basically tackled him – Hunk had managed to keep his sitting position though – and now has his arms wrapped around Hunk, fingers clawing at the back of his vest. His shoulders are shaking, and he could hear Keith crying again. He brings his arms around Keith, a hand rubbing up and down his back.

“I  _really_  am glad to have met you, Keith,” Hunk finishes what he was saying before, index finger drawing invisible circles in the back of Keith’s shirt. “I’m really sorry we’ve been treating you so poorly, honestly. I can’t excuse Allura’s actions, honestly.. Though she shouldn’t you be treating you this way.”

“Can we.. can we just  _not_ talk about her?” Keith croaks out, voice raw with all the crying he has done. “Please.”

“Of course.” It’s quiet again, and Keith as sniffled, hiccuped, and had gotten Hunk’s whole right shoulder wet with tears. “..Do you want me to stay here?” Keith’s completely silent, but he stiffens against the other male, and Hunk can feel Keith’s grip grow tighter on his vest. “I’ll stay.  _I’ll stay_.”

Hunk makes the two of them comfortable, though, with him sitting against the wall, legs spread out on the bed, as Keith lays his head on his shoulder. Keith ends up falling asleep on him, exhausted from all his crying. Hunk continues to stroke his back, and even runs his fingers through his long hair. He had lost track of time though, and eventually, the other paladins had came and peaked into the room, only to see the two paladins cuddling on Keith’s bed. Hunk’s wide awake though, and at the sight of the others, he raises a finger to his lips and telling them to  _shush_. Lance and Pidge grin wide and leave, but Shiro’s the one that stays for a few seconds and mouths a quick ‘thank you’ before he leaves.

“You shouldn’t keep these emotions bottled up, Keith,” Hunk whispers, knowing the boy can’t hear him but he still speaks his mind anyway. “Come to me if you need to talk next time..”


	2. Day 2; July 16th - loss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sorry not sorry for the angst you guys  
> (dw there's no major character death here)

Shiro was basically  _all of_ Keith’s impulse control. When they met, Shiro was the one that kept him in line. That fact was proven when Shiro went missing for the Kerberos mission and the Garrison said it was  _pilot failure_ and that Shiro was  _dead_. Keith acted out of line, wouldn’t respect the instructors, and went as far as picking a fight with Iverson. The students had muttered to themselves how ‘Kogane has  _guts_ ’, but that’s the most Keith ever heard as he was stomped away back to his room. Him getting kicked out of the Garrison was the  _best thing_  that happened to him, as disappointed and Shiro would be – and  _was_  when Keith gathered up the courage to explain himself after a long time in space – but Keith had no regrets. If he had a chance to go back to the Garrison after this war was over, he’d turn it down.

When he got Shiro back, that was fine – he thought he could rest  _easy_ after that. But,  _no_. He spoke too soon. Suddenly he’s on the hunt for a majestic alien ship with three other people that were from the Garrison, that he couldn’t remember the names of, but they introduced themselves later. And yet, Keith still couldn’t remember. But with Shiro standing by him, he chose to befriend the three rather than ignore them. Keith said so himself: With Shiro, his life would be a _lot_ different.

So when fighting Zarkon was over, and Shiro had  _upped and disappeared_ from the black lion, Keith couldn’t stop  _shaking_. He was angry, and upset, and wanted to cry – he wanted to  _punch_ something. Wreck something.  _Anything_ to try to make himself better. His impulsive behavior was unacceptable to say the least, especially when it went on for nearly two quintants according to Allura and Coran. Hunk, being the  _best boyfriend_ he possibly could, tried to calm Keith in any way possible. He tried to help being his impulse control, even though he was  _no Shiro_ , but he even went as far as training with Keith, practically being used a punching bag for him on the training deck. (Just, thankfully he was using his fists and not his bayard or Marmora blade.)

Yet, Keith still acted on impulse. He normally did with Shiro there  _anyway_ , but damage was worse without him alone. More often than not, Keith ended up with more injuries with the others, over the half the time ending up in a healing pod after each fight. The team was trying to tell him the next time he acts on impulse, he could end up  _dying_. Keith always ends up shrugging and going: “Then I just have to get strong enough so the fights  _won’t_ kill me. I’ll be on the training deck if you guys need me.”

No one goes after him when he goes to the training deck. They’ve tried the first five or six times he’s been in the healing pod after a fight, but eventually stopped trying to get Keith to rest. Hunk never stopped checking up on him though, making sure he took breaks to stay hydrated and eating a little bit to keep his strength up. Keith always thanked him and would mutter and apology for Hunk to see him this way. It hurts Hunk to know he can’t do anything more for his boyfriend, but the least he could do is make sure he keeps his energy up. (Kisses and taking care of his injuries, too, when he could drag Keith away from the training deck.)

There came a day where they thought they had a lead on Shiro, so Keith told them to prepare themselves to land on that planet. They don’t know what that planet had, nor do they know for sure if Shiro was there. Before they landed, they had gotten attacked by Galra warships, which meant the planet was  _overcome_ with Galra. Pidge and Lance stayed with the castle to help with defenses while Keith and Hunk went to the planet to fight off Galra down below. It seemed like the fight went on  _forever_  with the sentries never ending. It didn’t even seem they were making a  _dent_ in the thousands of sentries that were on the planet.

Hunk and Keith get separated after that, and yet still kept in touch through their helmets. Keith advises they retreat to their lions instead, believing they’d do more damage from the sky instead of the ground. Hunk agrees and meets up with him at the moment Keith’s surrounded by sentries.

Then it happens all so fast.

A group of sentries raise their guns and aim to shoot at Keith.

They fire.

But the shots land on Hunk instead as the yellow paladin pushing Keith to the ground and basically makes himself a human shield. The one thing he hears is Keith screaming his name, and he feels Keith pushing at him along with the shots he’s getting.

“Hunk! Hunk! Hunk,  _no_!” Keith’s screaming, his voice cracking and reaching a high pitch. He pushes Hunk off of him, laying him on the ground. “The  _fuck_ were you thinking!”

“Trying not to get you killed..” Hunk admits, body soaring with pain. “Leave me here.. get to Black..”

“No!  _Hell no_! I’m not leaving!”

“Keith--”

“Fuck, this is all my  _fault_!” Hunk watches with blurry vision as Keith gets up, bayard in one hand and Marmora blade in another. He starts charging at the group at sentries, cutting through them like they were butter. “If  _only_ I wasn’t so goddamn impulsive--” Sentry bodies are falling as a massive speed. “If only I thought more before I acted--” Hunk feels like he’s close to losing consciousness. “I wouldn’t have lost Shiro! And now I’m going to lose _Hunk too_..!”

Keith’s voice cracks as his two weapons slice through the last of the sentries that surrounded them previously. Keith drops both his bayard and his Marmora blade and stumbles to Hunk’s side. Dropping to the ground, shoulders shaking and eyes stinging. His cheeks are warm and hot tears are running down his cheeks. He’s regretting a  _lot_ , and he’s voicing that, too. Hiccups are coming out between his words and Hunk’s trying to get him to calm down. Keith’s telling him to save his voice.

“Please--- please please  _please_  just stay awake,” Keith begs, fingers digging into Hunk’s arms. “Stay with me.”

“I’unno.. staying awake is getting hard..” Hunk mutters, trying to breathe, but even  _that’s_ hard. His breaths are like gasps, as if he just ran a marathon around the world. “Breathing is.. getting hard too..”

“No. No no. You have to stay with me--  _breathe_ \-- Allura! We need to get out of here  _pronto_! Hunk need a healing pod!”

“ _We’ll be landing in a few ticks, hopefully! Lance and Pidge just made an opening!_ ”

“Great. That’s great,” Keith tries to breathe, his heart beating crazy fast and his stomach doing flips. “You hear that Hunk? She’ll be here soon. And you’ll be okay.”

Silence.

“Hunk?” Again, no answer. “Hunk. Hunk no. Hunk  _please_. Open your eyes. Wake up. I  _can’t lose you, too_.”

That’s how the others find the red and yellow paladins; Keith holding onto Hunk tightly, with blood coming out of open wounds and pooling to the ground. Hunk’s complexion is lighter, and Keith’s crying so hard he can barely take in a breath. Lance manages to pry Keith away from Hunk’s body so Allura and Coran can get him into a healing pod. Thankfully they got to him in time to save him, but he’d be in the healing pod for at least a couple quintants. Any later, he may not have survived. Keith thanks Coran for it, but plants himself right in front of Hunk’s healing pod, arms folded over his chest and hands squeezing his arms, hugging himself as his shoulders shake for a second time that day and tears fall once more.

“I don’t know what I would have done if I lost you, too, Hunk..” Keith mutters. “I’m so sorry.. please don’t hate me after you’re out of the pod.  _Please_.”


	3. Day 3; July 17th - touch

Keith wasn’t much of a touchy person. When he and Hunk first dated, Keith wanted to keep it on the down-low. He knew how Hunk was with information, so he wasn’t angry with him when he told the others. But Keith was very hesitant went it came to showing off in public, even if it was with the people they’ve been around for  _months_ now. But Keith warmed up to it eventually, and hunk started off slow; cuddling with Keith while they were in their rooms or holding hands when they were at the dining table. Simple pecks on the cheek with murmurs of ‘be safe’ and ‘love you’s against each others lips when they went on solo missions. Keith decided to take the big step after they got back from a long fight against the Galra and everyone showered. Hunk had went first, and he had laid out on the sofa in the common room. When Keith came in, he plopped down on him and cuddled with him, practically falling asleep on Hunk if it wasn’t for everyone watching.

Turns out, Keith was  _very cuddly_ when he was tired. Shiro had witnessed that more than once, but it was rare for Keith to show that to others. (“He must like you a  _lot_ , Hunk,” Shiro had told him, with a wide grin on his face. Then he had ushered Lance and Pidge out of the room to give them privacy.)

Hunk and Keith had both slept on the couch that night, curled up in each others arms with Keith listening to Hunk’s heartbeat and Hunk listening to Keith’s steady breathing.

Now that Keith was warmed up to the whole  _public display of affection_ thing, he initiated little sweet acts more than Hunk. He showed up to breakfast early to help him, going as far as planting kisses to the yellow paladins face, taking chubby cheeks in his hands and making Hunk laugh from how ticklish Keith’s kisses were. They may be a difference in height between them, and it made Keith stand on his toes in order to do this, but Hunk never complained – he absolutely  _loved it_. And now that Keith was comfortable, he’d sometimes swoop Keith up and place wet kisses on his face or swoop him up just because he felt like it. It always surprised Keith, and he never expects it, and he always yelps because of it, too. But that’s also something he doesn’t mind. Just makes his face heat up hotter than his lions element, even more so when Pidge makes gross noises and Lance teases them.

It took what seemed like months to Hunk to get Keith to approve of PDA. And then suddenly he feels like he’s back to square one when he wakes up one morning to Keith missing. The bathroom door is shut, and Hunk calls out to him. When he gets no response, he hurries to the bathroom door and tries to open it. The door starts sliding open, but Keith quickly regains access and types in the code to lock the door.

“Keith? Keith,  _please_. If somethings wrong, you can talk to me?” Hunk offers, fists banging on the bathroom door. “Did I kick you off the bed last night? ‘cause I’m sorry! If you’re angry, I’ll let you be the larger spoon tonight so you can kick  _me off_!”

“That’s not it..” Keith mutters and Hunk blinks at the door. “Just-- just leave me alone.. okay? You wouldn’t want to sleep with me, let alone  _touch me_ again if you saw me like this.”

“Saw you like  _what_? Looks never bothered me, Keith, you should know that.” Hunk says. Then it clicks. “Wait.. did you turn purple? Are you  _purple_ , Keith?”

“I look like a monster, Hunk!”

“I doubt it. Let me in, please?” There’s complete silence, and Hunk lets out a sigh. “..Fine. I’ll let you be. I’m going to the kitchen to make you breakfast. Pretty sure you won’t come down, but I’ll come back to bring you some food.”

Hunk turns around and gathers up his clothes, starting to get ready in the room; he strips out of his pajama shirt, getting only that far when the bathroom door chimes to signal it was unlocked. Hunk glances over and the bathroom door swishes open, revealing a  _very purple Keith_ in the doorway. He steps out into the light, and Hunk gets a better look. Keith’s hair is dark purple now, and there’s Galra ears sticking up, starting from the side of his face from where his human ears. His skin is purple, but it’s not  _fuzzy_. At least, not  _all of it_. And his nails look like claws now.

“Oh.. my god.”

“I told you I look like a monster,” Keith mutters, frozen in his spot. “I.. I just  _woke up_ like this. I understand if you don’t want to sleep with me anymore.”

“What? No! No no!” Hunk’s panicking and runs to Keith, taking his purple face in his hands. Now that he has a better look, the whites of Keith’s eyes are yellow now, but his iris is still the dark purple that he got lost in time and time again. “You’re no monster, Keith. And I already told you: looks don’t matter to me. You being  _Galra_ doesn’t change that. I didn’t expect you to turn purple, but it was probably bound to happen, right? You’re  _still you_ , Keith. I love you, and I’m not going to stop loving you because of this.”

Keith sniffles and his voice cracks when he tells Hunk ‘thank you’. For a while, they stay like that in complete silence before Keith breaks it.

“..How am I going to tell the others about this though?”

“You can stay here if you want until you gather up the courage to do it,” Hunk offers, a hand running through dark purple locks now and going to a Galra ear. “I think that may be better off for you. And for me.”

“..Why for you?” Keith feels nervous about asking, especially when a grin spreads wide across Hunk’s face. “..Hunk. What are you thinking.”

“I’m thinking I want to touch these new ears of yours a lot more,” Hunk responds with a giggle, both hands scratching behind them. A whine emits from Keith and he tells Hunk to stop, trying to push his hands away. But then Hunk’s hands start feeling  _good_ and a low rumble comes from him, sounding like a--- “Did you just purr?”

“..I-- no? No. I definitely did  _not_.” Keith says, pulling back from Hunk. “Nope. You’re hearing things.”

“You  _did_!”

“Nope!”

“Keith-- Keith, come back! I want to touch your ears more!”

“I’m revoking your touching privileges, Hunk!”

“You can’t deny me happiness when it makes  _you_ happy, too! I heard you  _purr_  for Quiznaks sake!”


	4. Day 4; July 18th - dreams

Ever since he was a kid, Hunk has had the habit of having bad dreams. He’s had them since he’s been born; tossing and turning in his beds as he grew up, waking up crying and screaming, sometimes wetting the bed from the fright. He got over that last one, and his parents tried what seemed like  _everything_ to try to keep their son sleep more peacefully. Switching beds, switching mattresses, getting a new bed set entirely. Getting a night light, reading him bed time stories. Warm milk and cookies before he went to bed sometimes worked but not always. They tried whatever they could to help him, when his grandmothers on his fathers side and his mothers side suggested a dream catcher. They had helped Hunk choose the perfect one and hung it right over his bed.

He slept a bit more peacefully after that. Still tossed and turned, and sometimes woke up during the night from bad dreams, but they weren’t as bad as before. Because of this, Hunk kept asking for dream catchers, and his family supplied him until his room was practically filled with  _dozens_ of them. Eventually he slept so soundly that it was difficult to get him up in the morning, but his parents were thankful that the dream catchers worked. (Even if it took dozens of them to make their son sleep peacefully.)

When he joined the Garrison, Hunk was thankful he roomed alone so he could bring a box of dream catchers with him. He hung them up around his room and he slept peacefully enough so he wasn’t slugging through the day, but not too many where he could get up for classes. When he went into space, sleeping wasn’t difficult at first, but it started getting more difficult as they continued to fight Galra. They’re still kids, and they’re putting their lives in  _danger_. It frightens Hunk, and he has nightmares about one of, or all of them dying, and none of their families knowing about it because they were in  _space_. What if Earth is destroyed when they get back? What if they never go back home? All these questions flooded his mind, and in the odd hours of the night, he’d have panic attacks while he’s sleep deprived.

Sleeping with Keith was like he had a life sized dream catcher, and at first, Hunk was nervous to sleep with him because he didn’t want to end up having a nightmare and kick his poor boyfriend off the bed.  _Or_ end up wetting the bed out of fright again and making Keith look at him with disgust. Which he doubts Keith  _would_ , but anything was possible, right?  _Right_?

But he ends up sleeping peacefully when he sleeps with Keith. He has the red paladin wrapped up in his arms and he snuggles against him, taking in his scent. He doesn’t have amazing smells like Lance, but it’s  _Keith_  and Hunk feels comfortable and at ease when he has his boyfriend in his arms. And when he’s the smaller spoon, listening to Keith’s heartbeat is like music to his ears. Sleeping comes easy when he’s the smaller spoon, because Keith would run his hand through his hair as they fall asleep together. Though because of that, Hunk’s  _always_ the first one to fall asleep.

Although whenever Keith’s in a healing pod, Hunk  _unfortunately_ has bad dreams again. Sometimes he ends up on the floor. At least now he stress bakes or prepares meals for the rest of the day. It concerns the others, but Hunk waves it off like its nothing. He’s normally not one to talk about his problems, not even with  _Keith_.

The castle lands at a planet that has a marketplace of some kind, and while Allura, Coran, and Shiro are introducing themselves to the inhabitants, the rest of the paladins are given some money to spend at the marketplace but are told to spend it  _wisely_. They all go their separate ways; Pidge to the planets electronics, Lance to explore a little, Keith to check out the weaponry, and Hunk’s also venturing out alone. He’s picking up a few things here and there, but then he comes across a booth that has something that resembles dream catchers. A yellow and red one catches his eye, with many fathers and bead work that would put his grandmothers to shame. He takes in a breath and touches it gently, taking in all of its features.

He doesn’t hesitate to buy it.

That night, he hangs it in his room and Keith comes in right when he’s doing so. He raises an eyebrow and curiosity gets the best of him.

“A dream catcher?” Keith questions and Hunk nods. “Huh. You really need one of those?”

“There’s something you don’t know, Keith,” Hunk admits, turning around after hanging it. “I haven’t been honest..”

“If there’s something you want to keep to yourself, I’m not going to force it out of you, Hunk,” Keith assures, leaning on the wall with arms crossed. “If you want to tell me though, I’m all ears. If you’re not ready to tell me, don’t worry about it.”

“No! I mean, I kept it to myself for this long, I might as well tell you now? You’ll probably find out sooner or later anyway,” Hunk responds with a shrug and lets out a breath. “Ever since I was a kid I’ve had trouble sleeping. My grandmothers suggested dream catchers and they helped me so much that I have a collection back home.  Before you and I got together, or even realized our feelings for one another, I had trouble sleeping. Ever since we started sleeping with each other, I’ve been sleeping fine. Like you’re my own dream catcher? But if you’re in a pod, I have trouble sleeping again. If figured this would help..”

“I’m like your own dream catcher?” Keith repeats, a smirk on his face. Hunk’s cheeks burn from admitting that. “That’s.. cute. I’m glad I’m able to help somehow. Or at least you found something to help you even  _more_. But..” Keith pushes off the wall and walks to Hunk, taking his cheeks in his hands. “You have to tell me something about your dreams, big guy. I want to try to help you somehow.”

“Right. Of course,” Hunk smiles wide and reaches out, tucking a piece of hair behind Keith’s ear. “I’ll try.”

“Good. Now let’s sleep and see if that dream catcher really  _does_ help you sleep better even with your own  _special_ dream catcher in your arms,” Keith teases with a grin and Hunk’s face glows red. “You’re not going to live that down.”

“Please don’t let it leave this room though.”

“Of course, Hunk. You have my word.”


	5. Day 5; July 19th - family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's more of all the paladins that just _heith_ but the heith is there!

When the other paladins would speak of how they wanted to go back to Earth to visit their families, Keith always felt left out. He never knew his mother, and the only thing he has to remember her by is his Marmora blade. As for his dad, he can’t remember  _what_ happened to him exactly. He just knows that his dad left and never came back. And while an orphan, going from foster home to foster home, he’s known plenty of families of all kinds, but he never stayed in one home for long. Even when he met Shiro, and winter break came for the Garrison, Shiro offered to take Keith with him to visit his parents instead of having Keith stay in a cold building for the whole break. Keith gave in, but the whole trip there he was  _panicking_. What if Shiro’s parents didn’t like him? What if because he was distant, Shiro’s parents tell him to drop his friendship with him? What if Shiro’s parents liked pinching cheeks and ruffling hair? Keith  _barely_ got used to a simple handshake when he met Shiro.

He’s thinking back on those times as Lance, Pidge, and Hunk are reminiscing about home. He and Shiro had walked in on the trio having the conversation after a training session and a quick shower. Lance is talking about his eldest sister had twin girls before he left for the Garrison, and how he knows he’ll miss their birthday, as well as any other birthday in his family. Hunk feels the same, saying he’s pretty sure his parents’ anniversary is coming up soon according to the calendar Pidge made. It wasn’t perfect, but she’s sure it’s darn close to a real calendar that they’re going to get. Speaking of Pidge, she’s typing away on her laptop, saying she may be coming close to finding her family, but nothing’s  _solid_ yet. She sighs, leaning back against the sofa and setting her laptop down so she can stretch her legs.

“I wonder how my parents would react to seeing me on their doorstep..” Shiro chimes in, causing the trio to glance, having just now realized Shiro and Keith had came in. “They’d probably  _freak out_  and call for an exorcist.”

“Right, because you’re supposed to be-- Never mind.” Lance doesn’t finish his sentence, shaking his head. “..Do you think the Garrison listed us as missing? Or said that we were dead to our families..?”

“Knowing them? They probably gave up searching and listed us as deceased after two days of looking,” Pidge comments, then realization hits her. “Oh god. My  _mom_. She was nervous about me enrolling into the Garrison – I  _really_  need to go back to Earth.”

“You guys are.. really close to your families, aren’t you..” Keith says slowly, and hadn’t realized he said that loud enough for everyone to hear when.. everyone was staring at him. “Uh-- forget I said that.”

“What? No, dude, we won’t forget that,” Lance says, raising an eyebrow. “I mean, yeah, we’re close to our families and all, but.. You know, sorry that we’re leaving you out of this.”

“It’s fine? I guess? I was in and out of foster homes so I never really.. stayed with a family for long?” Keith admits with a shrug, taking one hand and rubbing up and down his arm. Then he mutters: “You guys are the closest family I ever had.”

A pause. Then everyone’s eyes brighten and grins are spread wide. Hunk tugs Keith onto the couch, right in between him and Lance, hugging him close. Pidge lays on the three and Shiro come up from behind, ruffling Keith’s hair. Keith’s squirming, and his cheeks are red with embarrassment because  _fuck_ , he admitted that out loud. He thought  _muttering it_  would make it  _harder_ to hear, but he guesses not.

“I’m sure my parents would like to see you again,” Shiro admits, moving his hand from Keith’s hair. “Bet my dad will feed you apple pies until you  _burst_ like they did before.”

“Same with my family!” Lance says with a wide grin. “My family is  _huge_. You’d eat so much that you’d look like a  _balloon_.”

“I can’t say my family would feed you like crazy,” Pidge adds in with a shrug. “But remember that planet we were on that was inhabited by giant dogs? They were  _all over you_! We have a dog at home, Gunther. He’d like you. He’s very friendly.”

“Er-- thanks, I guess?” Keith’s still nervous about this whole family thing and Hunk hums a little in thought making Keith glance over with a raised eyebrow. “Hunk?”

“What are you thinking about buddy?” Lance questions, tilting his head.

“Hm, well, I’m thinking how my family is going to  _adore_ Keith,” Hunk answers, grin wider than anyone elses. “You remember my family, Lance. How my little nephews  _love_ sword fighting. And Keith’s an  _expert_ on sword fighting. Think you’d be good with kids, Keith? They’d climb you as if you were a mountain.”

“I.. I guess I’d be good with kids?  _I don’t know_!” Keith’s panicking more now, his heart beating fast. This is just  _so much_. He has a long time to prepare for this, he’s sure, but still! He can’t take all of this. “How can you be so sure you’re family is going to like me though?”

“Because you’re my  _boyfriend_ , duh?” Hunk answers, raising an eyebrow and Keith feels his face flushing more from the label. “My parents are probably going to make you move in. They’ll consider you a part of the family for sure. Especially since  _I_ love you, they’ll love you  _ten times over_!”

The common room is silent for a moment and Keith’s getting overwhelmed from all of this now. He takes in a shaky breath, trying  _not_ to cry but the tears fall anyway. That’s when everyone else panics, and starts blaming one another for making Keith start  _crying_. They all eventually blame Hunk though because “ _It’s always the boyfriend that says something so mushy to make the other cry_!” Pidge declares and Hunk’s panicking more and reaches into one of his pouches to take out a tissue, trying to rub away Keith’s tears.

Keith’s just happy to feel  _wanted_ , and a wave of relief is hitting him to know everyone’s families would  _love him_. He’s even more glad that he was given the assurance that Hunk’s family would love him more than he knew.


	6. Day 6; July 20th - colours

“You’re the apple of my eye, Keith.”

“You’re like the sun; you brighten my life up so much.”

“You’re like a chili pepper;  _hot_.” Hunk retorts, which makes Keith’s face go red. “Ha, and red’s a  _really nice_ look on you. It suits you well.”

“That’s not fair! You said  _two_!” Keith playfully slaps him, huffing. “..Yellow is the colour of bees. Bees make honey. You’re sweeter than honey..  _honey_?” Keith slowly says this while raising his hands, trying to do finger guns. “I’m not good at this..”

“You killed me. You’re cute.  _Oh my god_.” Hunk shuts his eyes as he lays back on the couch. “Red traffic light; you need to  _stop_.”

“Yellow is the colour of smiley faces and you always manage to bring a smile to my face.”

“Red is the colour of strawberries and you’re sweeter than any berry.”

Keith hums, “Yellow is the colour of yellow roses, which mean friendship, but I want to be more than friends with you.”

“You’re already more than a friend to me,” Hunk says, but that was  _so cute_. “Adorable, though. Points for that. But.. red is like fire, and it burns like my love for you.”

“ _Huuunk_ ,” a whining Keith is a  _super cute_ Keith in Hunk’s opinion. The red paladin hides his red face in his hands. “Yellow is like your lion; strong, protecting, and even though it’s not the  _black lion_.. you’re still the leader of my heart.”

“Red is like  _your_ lion; needy, temperamental--”

“Hey!”

“But strong and brave, which is all  _you_ ,” Hunk continues, then leans in, arms going around Keith’s waist. He rests their foreheads together. “Red is also the colour of kissing emojis on a cell phone.”

“Is that saying you want to kiss me?”

“Can I?”

Keith leans in first, pecking Hunk’s lips, “You don’t have to ask.”

They sit on the couch in the common room for a while, placing light kisses on each others lips and faces, doing nothing but kiss in silence for a long while before they pull away, foreheads resting against each others once more.

“You know, in autumn, there’s yellows, oranges, and reds,” Keith points out and Hunk hums. “Those colours are really pretty.. they remind me of you.”

“Aw,  _Keith_ ,” Hunk smiles and places another kiss on Keith’s lips. “Orange is the colour of candy corn. And I love candy corn as much as I love you.”

“You like candy corn?”

“Yeah, why? You don’t?”

“No.”

“Wow! This relationship is over!” Hunk declares, moving his head from Keith’s, but still keeping the boy close to him. “What about red velvet cake?”

“I haven’t really had red velvet cake before,” Keith admits with a shrug and Hunk  _gasps_ in mock offense. “You’re going to try to make me try it though, aren’t you?”

“I can try! I’m determined!” Hunk says with a wide grin. “I  _love_ red velvet cake. It has two of my favourite things; it’s  _cake_ and it’s  _red_. Cake’s sweet and so are you.

“Oh my  _god_ , you’re unbelievable,” Keith laughs out, shaking his head. “..Orange is.. us. And I wouldn’t split red and yellow up for  _anything_.”

“Neither would I.”


	7. Day 7; July 21st - free day/College AU

When Keith’s art professor had given the assignment to use a school issued camera to take pictures for a week, Keith thought it would be  _easy_. He had a camera of his own that he got as a gift from a long term best friend that he already used  _constantly_. When he and Hunk went on dates, Keith would take that camera with him and take pictures of the scenery, the food, and often times he’d sneak pictures of Hunk, as well. He’d go through the pictures later and Keith’s smile would widen and his heart would flutter when he noticed how well the pictures of Hunk would turn out. Sometimes he’d take pictures when his boyfriend was concentrating on cooking or when Hunk helps him with his motorcycle. (Having a boyfriend that was an engineering major had it’s perks.)

But then Keith’s professor had asked him to stay after, anxiety struck him and pooled up in his gut, making him feel sick. Though while everyone else left, Keith didn’t move from his desk. Instead of bolting out of the room like a bat out of hell, he stayed sitting in his desk, with his bag resting on the top. Back straight and trembling fingers gripping the fabric of his bag. When everyone else left the room, his professor started to walk towards him, and tried to get him to calm down. Easier said than done, and even when his professor said he wasn’t in trouble, it only eased Keith a little bit.  _Then_ his professor started praising him. Keith always did well in his classes, but being an art major, he did better in his art course than the rest.

With that being said, his professor decided to give him an option for a little extra credit on his assignment. When Keith took pictures of Hunk, he  _rarely_ showed them, since they were done in secret. And for photography assignments, it was normally for a few days and the professor would give them places they wanted their students to photograph instead of them letting them choose on their own. But this assignment is different, especially for  _Keith_ , when his professor wanted him to try to take pictures of  _people_. (“You don’t  _have to_ add people to your assignment,” his professor added in. “Although if you decided to, you’ll get a little extra credit. You don’t have to stress with adding a lot of people, either. Just one is fine, and maybe you can try to make them fit into a theme.”)

Keith took that advice, and even the idea his professor gave him. His art course had been his last course of the day, so the rest of the time his art assignment is  _all_ he could think about. He sits in the library, waiting for Hunk’s courses to end, notebook in front of him as he writes down who he could ask and what he could put together to fit a theme of some kind. He could use his long-term best friend, Shiro, and his girlfriend Allura. Pair the pictures of them with flowers and their interests. Maybe use them sparring as part of the theme.

Or Lance and his girlfriend, Pidge, who liked doing pranks together and used  _memes_ to express themselves. Pidge was a good friend of Keith’s too, since they bonded over conspiracies and liked mixing red bull with coffee and then taking a five-hour energy drink on top of that. Lance was Hunk’s best friend, and later on became Keith’s friend, too, but their friendship started  _before_ Hunk and Keith became a couple.

Keith wrote down Hunk’s name using an orange pen, adding in the best qualities he could think of. ( _All_ of Hunk’s qualities were good, but how was he going to fit all of them into  _one_ assignment?)

Keith’s writing down a lot of things about Hunk, using bits of pieces to fit some sort of theme, when a hand touches his shoulder, making him nearly jump out of his seat. He turns his head quick, and there’s Hunk himself, a bright smile on his face and bag hanging off of one shoulder. Keith quickly shuts his notebook, because he is  _so_ not ready to talk to Hunk about this assignment yet. Right now he’s just  _brainstorming_.

“Hey, big man,” Keith greets, a smile coming to his lips. “How was your last class?”

“Time seemed to drag on  _forever_ ,” Hunk complains and slides into a seat next to Keith, leaning in to peck his cheek as his own way of greeting his boyfriend. “Thank god it’s the  _weekend_. Listen, Lance and Pidge wanted to go to this new cafe that opened up in a little bit. They asked if we wanted to go, too. You interested?”

Keith thinks. He could ride his motorcycle again, if it wasn’t too far. Plus he could take pictures outside the new cafe and the inside if the servers allowed it. He gives a small shrug, and starts gathering his things into his bag.

“Sure. Why not?” Keith responds finally. “Let’s go back to our dorm and get changed. My art classroom has a broken AC so I was  _sweating_.”

“Sure thing, babe.”

Keith’s heart flutters at the pet name, and his cheeks grow warm as the word echoes in his head. He and Hunk get up from the table and leave the library to their dorm room, where they  _both_ decide to change. While Keith’s changing, he’s messaging Lance and Pidge, trying to figure out directions to the place. Lance just says he could follow them, since it wasn’t that far of a drive. Keith’s  _so thankful_ he could ride his motorcycle again, and tells Hunk that’s what he’s going to drive if he wanted to follow behind in his pick-up. He knows how his boyfriend is with motorcycles, but this time..

“Nah, I’ll ride with you,” that response makes Keith raise his eyebrows at that. “The AC is broken in my pick-up. I’ve been meaning to fix it, but it’s been too hot to work on it.”

“Will you be okay though?” Keith asks, concerned as he’s tying his hair back into a low ponytail. “I know how you are with motorcycles..”

“I’ll be fine.” Hunk reassures, and leans in to give Keith a small peck on the lips. “Trust me.”

Keith  _does_ trust him, and turns out, Hunk was right. He didn’t scream like normal, nor did he tell Keith to slow down any. Hunk had the bad habit of backseat driving when Keith was driving his motorcycle, which didn’t  _irritate_ Keith any. But when they’re in the highway together, Keith got crazy with speed since he loved feeling the wind hitting his face. He follows behind Lance’s car, and it didn’t take more than twenty minutes until they arrived at the place. They had to park on the street, but that wasn’t  _so bad_ since Keith wanted to take pictures of the outside anyway. The inside was even better, with bright lighting and friendly staff. There’s even games to play, more for little kids than the adults, but when the four of them are seated and their drinks are ordered, Lance and Pidge leave to go play the crane game in the back of the cafe.

“They’re such  _children_ ,” Hunk says with a laugh, taking a sip of the complimentary water they’re served. “Watch Pidge come back with a handful of stuffed animals.”

“If Pidge hacks that crane game, I wouldn’t be surprised.” Keith adds in, amusement in his tone.

After that small conversation, Keith’s index finger is going around the rim of the water glass, and eventually their drinks arrive. Lance and Pidge come back in time to order their food, only holding a few stuffed animals. If they had more time to play they probably would have won  _more_ , according to Lance anyway. Then he suggests Hunk and Keith should play, giving Keith the challenge to get more stuffed animals than himself. Keith jumped at that chance, and told the two of them to tell him and Hunk when their food arrived.

Keith lets Hunk play first, though, and it was the  _best decision_ he had made. As Hunk’s concentrating on the game, Keith’s taking pictures on his personal camera, not his school issued one, since his personal camera was of slightly better quality. He tries to be sneaky as he takes pictures, but Hunk turns his head when Keith’s taking pictures, eyes going wide and blinking. Keith quickly lowers his camera, and they’re both quiet for the longest time before Hunk asks:

“..You’ve been taking pictures of me?”

“Er.. yeah?” Keith responds, fingers playing with the camera strap. “Sorry? Sometimes I can’t help myself.. I’ll delete them if you want.”

“No! No no. It’s  _fine_ , Keith. I just wasn’t expecting it,” Hunk says, but a little flustered from it. “Was this from the assignment you’re doing for class?”

“Wha-- how do you--”

“I saw your notes,” Hunk admits with a small smile and a shrug of his shoulders. “Before I scared you out of your seat anyway.”

“You didn’t  _scare me_ ,” Keith mutters with a small huff, glancing away. “You.. weren’t supposed to know about that. I wasn’t really ready to..”

“To.. what?”

“I was going to ask if you would model for me?” Keith continues on, cheeks colouring with a brighter red, eyes darting from Hunk to somewhere else in the cafe. “I mean-- not exactly  _model_. Just more of.. get permission to use you for the assignment? My professor is giving me extra credit if I added  _people_ to this assignment, and gave me the idea to use a  _theme_  and I just-- I just thought you’d be the best choice..? Since I take so many pictures of you already.. without your knowledge but--”

“You’ve  _been_ taking pictures of me?” Hunk repeats, his own cheeks growing red. Keith nods, now embarrassed from admitting it. “Oh my god,  _Keith_. You’re so  _cute_.”

“I am not!”

“You _are_ , though! Pidge and Lance would agree with me,” Hunk says, folding his arm over his chest and nodding. “But.. I’d be honoured to be part of your assignment? _Especially_  if it’s for extra credit. I know how you are with art, Keith,  _and_ into your photography. As if I’m going to deny you of your first true love. And being part of it? Man.. I feel  _really special_.”

“Because you  _are_  special. At least to me, anyway.” Keith admits, a shy smile on his lips. “But.. thank you.”

“No problem, babe,” Hunk says, and then turns back to the crane game, going back to winning an orange cat that’s in there. “But.. what have you been doing with the pictures you’ve been taking of me before? You’re not showing them to your professor?”

“No. I just admire them myself. Especially when you’re with family or back late from classes.”

“..And you say you’re not cute.”

“Because I’m not!” Keith whines, forehead resting against the glass of the crane game. “Stop insisting on that!”


End file.
